Cool and clear, warming later. Did I mention it was in the 40s yesterday morning? It did get to the high 70s, low 80s by late afternoon though. Kid thought it was a bit chilly at the bus stop. Beautiful, drive with the windows down, day. I’m hoping for another…
Did my site visit. Solved one issue, which was configuration in the control software, but the other issue was a dead TV. TCL with a few years on it, just not turning on anymore. We installed them knowing they were probably crep, and we got extended warranties, which we used many times. They were incredibly cheap and looked great for the money. They fail pretty much on schedule though in a rough environment. Indoors, climate controlled? They would probably last twice as long. I went by Costco to see about replacements.
The direct replacement, which is bigger, is only $239. It’s a Roku tv, full of spyware and data gathering, which subsidizes the cost of the hardware. The equivalent Sony was $499, and it’s a googleTV loaded with google’s spyware and monitizing software. We keep them off the network and don’t use the “smart TV” features. My client’s kids will occasionally defeat that by joining the wifi and using the built in apps to access their own streaming accounts. I take them back off when I find them connected.
There is some indication that they are never really off the net, but I do what I can to minimize the number of piggies feeding at the trough. If you are really concerned, you install Planar control room monitors that don’t have any smart features. They are a lot more expensive, but are built to run 24/7 for years and not spy on you. I’ve got a Planar 55″ 4K that I’m thinking of putting at the BOL. It’s a tank. Other manufacturers also make monitors for commercial use that are big and high resolutions.
In any case, I’ll be replacing the dead TV later this week or early next week.
After my site visit, I did a couple of pickups. Notable items were birthday gifts for the kids, and a cellular boost antenna for the cellular repeater at the BOL. I would like to get a couple more dB of signal going into the repeater.
Today I’ve got some kid school volunteer stuff to get organized, and a couple of pickups, and maybe the normal Tuesday/Thursday kid taxi stuff. Maybe not as D2 is feeling poorly. Two of the chaperones from her trip tested sick, one for flu, one for covid. Dunno which she has, or if it’s something else, but she’s coughing and snotty. On the other hand, D1 is mostly done with that, and W1 is starting to feel better. Sleep is a universal cure. I’m hoping to miss it entirely. REALLY hoping.
I thought I’d have some time this week to get caught up, but instead I got my client’s issue, and kid volunteering issues… oh well. No rest for the wicked.
Stacking is easy. If you can’t do anything else, do some of that.
nick